The Calgary Flames’ summer wish list is headed by a proven NHL goalie and a big, skilled winger.
However, if anyone believes those two adds can cure the Flames’ woes they are as lost as the Flames were this season.
There needs to be change.
But as Flames general manager Brad Treliving made clear Monday that change doesn’t necessarily mean an influx of newcomers.
“It’s unrealistic to say there are going to be 25 new faces here,” said Treliving following his exit meetings with players. “There’s three ways to improve – bring someone in from the outside, potentially improve by eliminating someone from the inside and, more often than not, it’s internal growth. That was a big message today.
“This is a very critical summer for every player and for us as an organization.”
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While optimists can point to the fact the team’s top three defencemen and four of their top nine forwards had career years, the reality is the Flames were only a handful of losses away from being the worst team in the NHL. And they blew that (and the 20 per cent lottery odds) by winning too many meaningless games down the stretch and bolstering individual stats in the process.
Flames will have an 8.5 per cent chance of winning the draft lottery, which would go a long way towards addressing their need to add skill up front. It’s a lot to count on though.
Unlike teams like, say the Edmonton Oilers, the Flames aren’t in need of a major cultural shift – that already happened when Mark Giordano took over from Jarome Iginla as captain.
This team needs some more maturity to go with its emerging skill and tireless work ethic.
“The fact is we rely on very young players to carry this team,” said Treliving, whose leaders will continue to be Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, T.J. Brodie and Giordano.
“You can improve quickly in this league – you have to make the right decisions. There is a very good young nucleus here and solid veterans. We need to make some changes that can put us right back in a playoff spot next year. There needs to be moves made and that’s the GM’s job. But we need internal growth.
“Coming back with the right mental approach is important. I’m confident we can do the things we need to get back into the playoffs next year. But the group coming back here needs to make steps as well.”
Joe Colborne said he expects plenty of change this summer given the Flames 20-point decline from a year earlier.
He hopes he isn’t part of the moves though. He very much wants to stay in his hometown – and his combination of size and skill are exactly what the Flames need more of – but the third-liner may be used as trade bait.
The 6-foot-5 winger finished with a career high 19 goals and 44 points, putting the restricted free agent in line for a raise that will at least double his $1.27-million salary. With huge contracts in the works for restricted free agents Gaudreau and Monahan combined with the need for a proven goalie, money is going to be extremely tight for the Flames moving forward.
Last year the Flames made two significant additions in Dougie Hamilton and Michael Frolik, and the Flames went from a playoff spot to 26th overall.
Why the young Flames failed to live up to expectations following their improbable playoff appearance a year earlier revolved largely around a start that saw the Flames win one game in regulation in their first 14 outings.
Treliving will try getting to the bottom of whether the start is a result of the players believing their own press clippings, being unprepared, immature or simply not being good enough.
Their start cost the club the confidence it spent the entire year beforehand building brilliantly.
No matter how far behind they were in a game or how long the odds were last year, the Flames so often dug down to find a game-tying goal or game-winner late in the evening in 2014-15. Those comebacks disappeared this year, as did their playoff chances.
“All year it just felt like we had a bit more swagger and confidence last year and we were able to have that push we didn’t have this year,” said Giordano. “All those comeback wins and those extra points were huge too.
“The one good thing coming out of this is you won’t take for granted getting into the playoffs.”
Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano. (Jonathan Hayward/CP)
Treliving was hit with a series of disappointing developments Monday as several key players rejected great opportunities to continue growing their games.
The co-GM of Canada’s world championship team was turned down by Hamilton (wants to “focus on his summer”), Brodie (not feeling 100 per cent), Giordano (family reasons) and Monahan (says he’s banged up).
Despite slow starts, all three defencemen had career years for the Flames but we will see how consideration for the World Cup of Hockey will be affected by the worlds rejection.
Jyrki Jokipakka (hip), Jakub Nakladal (ankle) and Frolik (groin) have also turned down their countries due to injury.
The only Flame going to Russia for the worlds is Sweden’s Mikael Backlund. Gaudreau said he hasn’t made a decision on playing for the U.S. team at the worlds yet but that he is unlikely given he is without a contract for next season and has little to play for having already been named to Team North America’s under-23 team at the World Cup this fall.
“From a Team Canada hat I’m disappointed – those are good players,” said Treliving, who would have liked his players to gain more experience and perhaps taste winning on a big stage.
“From a Flames perspective I get it. I try to pride myself with having a strong relationship with the players and we talked through it. As I told them all – I want hockey players playing and I think it’s a great experience. But I support them and understand where they are coming from.”
No position was more heavily scrutinized this season than Calgary’s goaltending, which will be radically different next year after ranking last in several categories. Treliving informed unrestricted free agent Jonas Hiller Monday he won’t be back next year.
Karri Ramo, who found his groove as the team’s starter before Christmas, is an unrestricted free agent who said he’d consider returning. He likely won’t be asked though.
The one goalie who does make sense as a returnee is restricted free agent Joni Ortio who played well enough down the stretch to be re-signed to a deal worth $660,000 and given a chance to compete for the backup gig next fall.
As for what went wrong, the Flames’ confidence of a year earlier disappeared when the first month of the season went awry, making it impossible for the team to recover.
The club hopes late pushes by players like Backlund, Monahan, Colborne and Hamilton in meaningless games bode well for a better start next season and the internal growth Treliving is counting on to turn things around.
